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Lothar von Rabe
Lothar von Rabe is a professional madman cleverly disguised by the credentials of a scientist. Although accredited as a medical doctor, Lothar champions several new “social sciences” for the improvement of mankind and human society, which often overlaps with his pseudo-scientific interpretations of statistics and psychology. Above all, Lothar seeks (or claims to seek) the perfection of man as a rational, orderly and dignified creature. He is currently attached to the Imperial Anti-Piracy Squadron as a liaison from Berlin, tasked with evaluating the squadron’s effectiveness and maximizing its efficiency. Appearance Lothar is a very slender man with delicate features inherited (he says) from his “mother, Cousin Gertude, and Uncle Walter.” His height, already impressive, is further exaggerated by this narrow build. Lothar always does his best to keep his appearance efficient and tidy, although from time to time he becomes distracted by his work and takes on a disheveled appearance, which he vehemently denies after the fact. His voice is smooth and soothing, touched with a gentle German accent. Nevertheless, there is something unsettling in his tone that cannot help but be noticed, especially when he stands a little too close to his listener, or studies them a little too intensely. Also of note, Lothar has a narrow dueling scar on one cheek, the result of an academic fencing bout at university. Family The von Rabes are a very young family as far as Prussian nobility goes, and in the eyes of some aristocrats they are no better than their bourgeois ancestors. The family’s ennobling is less than a hundred years old, having been bestowed upon Lothar’s grandfather, Jakob Rabe, for loyal and often ruthless service in defense of Prussia during the Napoleonic Wars. In particular, Jakob Rabe is noted for having raised a unit of black-uniformed jägers called the “Raven’s Company,” which terrorized the French forces of occupation in the German states. In exchange for his efforts, Jakob Rabe was made a Freiherr (baron) and given ownership of a piece of not terribly attractive land in northeastern Prussia. The von Rabes have continued to reside in Berlin ever since. They also maintain the Raven’s Company for the Prussian Army, of which Lothar is an honorary Captain under the command of his elder brother Gustav. In spite of its bourgeois background, the von Rabe family enjoys high standing in the eyes of the Prussian government, and it eagerly defends its reputation with duels of honor. On his mother Hildegard’s side, Lothar’s family is rather more auspicious, coming from a very old and respectable Junker line. Relations between the two branches have traditionally been somewhat strained, although the service of the Raven’s Company at Sedan in 1870 has granted some grudging respect at family get-togethers. Background Lothar was born and raised in a fashionable section of Berlin, where his family resided. While attending university for his medical studies, Lothar became fascinated by concepts of human interaction. After observing the training of animals, he became convinced that an orderly society was possible only through a careful manipulation of societal norms and behavior patterns, which he proceeded to test using a set of not altogether willing volunteers. This eventually caught the attention of certain parties in Berlin, who eagerly approached him about using his expertise for the good of the Prussian state. Lothar spent several years developing profiles and models of human behavior and efficiency. His work was briefly interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War, which he attended (attached to the Raven’s Company under Major Gustav von Rabe) to study the effects of battle on human behavior. His notes were copious enough to demand their own railway compartment on the return trip. In 1874, Lothar became fascinated by the exploits of the Imperial Anti-Piracy Squadron, which he had been studying since its inception in 1872. Utilizing contacts in the German government and the well-placed relatives of old school friends, he had himself assigned to the Squadron as a civilian liaison from Berlin with special instructions to evaluate the operation and help the officers maximize their effectiveness in the field. He denies any and all rumors that he carried out these arrangements in order to place himself in proximity to Kapitan von Grelle, who he nevertheless acknowledges as an “impressive specimen of German womanhood.” Category:IAPS Canon Category:Military men Category:Original Characters